Very glad I do NOT live in Indiana....

Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home

By Dan Carden dan.carden@nwi.com, (317) 637-9078 | Posted: Friday, May 13, 2011 3:56 pm | (218) Comments

Related Documents Supreme Court ruling in Barnes v. State


INDIANAPOLIS | Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.
In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry.
"We believe ... a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence," David said. "We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest."
David said a person arrested following an unlawful entry by police still can be released on bail and has plenty of opportunities to protest the illegal entry through the court system.
The court's decision stems from a Vanderburgh County case in which police were called to investigate a husband and wife arguing outside their apartment.
When the couple went back inside their apartment, the husband told police they were not needed and blocked the doorway so they could not enter. When an officer entered anyway, the husband shoved the officer against a wall. A second officer then used a stun gun on the husband and arrested him.
Professor Ivan Bodensteiner, of Valparaiso University School of Law, said the court's decision is consistent with the idea of preventing violence.
"It's not surprising that they would say there's no right to beat the hell out of the officer," Bodensteiner said. "(The court is saying) we would rather opt on the side of saying if the police act wrongfully in entering your house your remedy is under law, to bring a civil action against the officer."
Justice Robert Rucker, a Gary native, and Justice Brent Dickson, a Hobart native, dissented from the ruling, saying the court's decision runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"In my view the majority sweeps with far too broad a brush by essentially telling Indiana citizens that government agents may now enter their homes illegally -- that is, without the necessity of a warrant, consent or exigent circumstances," Rucker said. "I disagree."
Rucker and Dickson suggested if the court had limited its permission for police entry to domestic violence situations they would have supported the ruling.
But Dickson said, "The wholesale abrogation of the historic right of a person to reasonably resist unlawful police entry into his dwelling is unwarranted and unnecessarily broad."
This is the second major Indiana Supreme Court ruling this week involving police entry into a home.
On Tuesday, the court said police serving a warrant may enter a home without knocking if officers decide circumstances justify it. Prior to that ruling, police serving a warrant would have to obtain a judge's permission to enter without knocking.

 

and the Indiana Courts, "Remedy" for such a violation is to SUE, Government Entity, in Civil Court, for MONEY.... a lot that does when they blew away, one of the folks in the house during the Raid.... Think that this doesn't happen? Think again.... I know it happens.... There is a "Classic Case" of just such a action, in Washington State, a few years back. Bad Intel, Hyped up SWAT Team, local Cops were Idiots, and the Wife of the Home Owner, was shot, and KILLED, in her front room, while holding her infant Daughter, buy a SWAT Officer with a FULL AUTO HK Carbine, by a multiple round burst. First, they said it was a "Weapons Malfunction" HK immediately said they were full of CRAP, in a widely published Statement. Second, they said it was because she was in "Threatening posture". The Family Attorney, brought that to a "Quick End", but publishing independent wittiness accounts, of the event. Finally, they said the Officer made a "Mistake" and would need to go thru "Retraining" When they were FORCED, by the Family Attorney, to release ALL those arrested, after two days, for lack of ANY evidence, to backup the initial Search Warrant, and the TRUTH, that the INTEL they used to get that Warrant, was a Total Fabrication, they said it was a "TRAGIC Misunderstanding"

Lot of good that did the Husband. Oh he SUED the ASS of the Country, the City, the Officer, and the DirtBag that provided the False INTEL, and got a GIANT Settlement, that the TAXPAYERS had to fund, but it was NEVER going to put things "RIGHT", and restore his wife to him. As part of the Settlement, the County was FORCED to disband the SWAT Team. The city, was FORCED to setup new Search Warrant Policies. The Officer was FIRED, and the DirtBag was convicted of lying to local Police, but was still used by them as a "Snitch" long afterwards.

This is EXACTLY why it is my OPINION, that the civilian Police, should NEVER be issued Full AUTO, Or Select Fire Weapons, PERIOD. There is NO Senerio that justifies the use of these weapons by civilian Police Forces, PERIOD. Yea, I still get a little "Hot" under the collar, when I think about this event......

YMMV....